An Old Friend
by xJKxD
Summary: Team Kakashi including Yamato were assigned a simple escort mission. Everything was fine till unknown ninja of the Hidden Sound village attack the convoy. Though they managed to force the enemy to retreat something was still bothering Kakashi. But before he could give in to that feeling the party encountered another problem.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** _If I would own Naruto...*nya...Tenzoouuu...* sry ~ got distracted ~ eh plot is mine characters aren't. xD_  
**Careful: **_Yaoi ~ don't like it ~ pls don't read it_

* * *

The already setting sun advised the two men, clothed in completely drenched anbu wear, to hurry up on their way to the Hokage's office. Neither of them wanted to risk encouraging Tsunade to teach them a lesson or two about the importance of briefing the Hokage, without any unnecessary delay, on their freshly discovered information and of course about the status of the mission. Needless to say that they were indeed aware of the importance their news were carrying.

Nonetheless it was awfully hard to speed up their pace. Hell, it was not possible to progress any quicker. Every single muscle screamed in pain, mixed with infinite fatigue and with every cursed step, the objection of their bodies became louder. The thought of their homely apartment, which they momentarily shared together, along with their warm and cosy beds didn't really simplify their current situation.

The same applied to the unbearable nasty weather. Ever since they have departed for their task, five days ago, it was snowing continuously and the temperature had dropped immense. Clothing and hair had been soaked to the bitter end by now. Without the useful skill of the younger one, manipulating the wood element, it would have been very unpleasant for the two shinobi, especially because on their whole journey they haven't seen one single hotel to stay and rest for the night.

Suddenly the older man stopped dead in his tracks, his silver hair, the only detail of his appearance which wasn't covered by blue and silver fabric, was stuck on his forehead. He turned around and the brownhaired already knew that a wide smile appeared under his old ceramic mask, showing a beautifully painted dog, which according to his former squad looked rather grim but was so full of precious memories for the younger male.

„Tenzou," he started slowly, triggering his partner's urge to scold his Senpai for not using the correct codename, like always. But the thought vanished as quickly as it appeared. Yamato was too tired to bother his head about such a simple issue, more over he was too occupied analysing the foreboding evil which the use of his old name usually implicated.

The dog teasingly waited for Yamato's correction and paused an nearly ridiculous long time till he continued his request, slightly disappointed of the lacking resistance. „You wouldn't mind reporting to Tsunade by yourself, ne? Tenzou?"

The manner in which the silver-haired man lowered his voice, as he whispered his name for the second time made the, only four years younger, anbu captain blush under his mask. Even though the actual purpose of these masks where to hide their expressions in front of the enemy and protect their own identity, Yamato was more than happy to be able to cover his warm cheeks under the cooling material right now.

The brownhaired shook his head in disagreement, willing to finally put his decision, to withstand Kakashi-Senpai's persuasiveness, into practice. After all he wasn't the thrilled kid any more, the one who used to do anything to spent as much time with his amazing Senpai as he possibly could. Of course he was inspired by Kakashi back then, who wouldn't have been? But he was 26, the little, naive child grew up and became a quiet famous shinobi of Konoha himself in the meantime.

„I don't think Tsunade-sama would approve that," he briefly replied and tried to move on, but Kakashi didn't move a single inch. Instead he confidently raised his index finger and hold it in front of Yamato's face.

„But If I were at home I could already start with all the paperwork," his voice turned back into his lazy, usual tone, the first detail Yamato noticed and he had to admit that he didn't particularly like it, which made him feel only a little more embarrassed by his own train of thoughts.

It was crystal clear to him, that Kakashi wouldn't give up that easily, but this time he was more than just prepared. „We will finish the papers much faster if we work together!", he reversed Kakashi's logic, forcing his second attempt on moving forward.

The head of his counterpart lightly tilted to one side, as if he would philosophize on the success of another try, before he ran his fingers through his shiny, silvery and entirely wet hair, on the one hand he was surprised by the persistence of his friend with the cute cat mask but on the other hand he felt highly motivated by this new occurring challenge.

Eventually he proceeded their way to the Hokage's office, without another word leaving his lips.

This time it was Yamato's turn to form a small grin on his face, as he followed his Senpai quietly, the former weariness of his limbs felt like it was completely washed away.

However, before he could fully enjoy his short-lived victory, he nearly bumped again into his partner, who suddenly stood still once more and if it wasn't for his natural shinobi reflexes, he would have definitely crashed right into him just to afterwards badly hit the rainy ground together.

While he was desperately trying to keep his balance, Kakashi freed himself from the anbu mask and moved closer to his Kohai. Yamato sighed happily, as his feet eventually hit the solid soil again and he looked up only to gaze directly into his Senpai's face. The visible black eye kept staring at his deep brown ones as the almost unnoticeable small shapes under his mask, generally covering any facial expressions and half of his visage, started to move gentle.

„You know, Tenzou. I didn't want to admit it because you are the Kohai I'm proud of the most and I truly don't want to disappoint you, but the use of my Sharingan exhausted me completely."

Apart from his honest concern for his Senpai he felt the heat rushing upwards, embracing his mind and body once more. He can't deny the fact that it felt good, too good to be praised by Kakashi like that and without really realizing it, he nodded consensual.

„Alright, Kakashi-Senpai. It's not a problem please go home ahead and rest while I inform the Hokage." Kakashi squeezed his shoulder encouragingly before he headed to the opposite direction, „Thanks, Tenzou," he smiled as he disappeared in the dark, a small chuckle accompanied him on his way to their apartment.

"It's been a while since I was on an anbu mission," Kakashi muttered into the thin air as he followed the small trail of light, spent by the various lanterns standing next on the lonesome strees, to their home. When he left the anbu years ago, he didn't expect to ever wear this uniform again, or this specific mask of his. He was even slightly confused of the fact that his mask was still available for him.

But though, if he was being all honest, he wasn't very eager to help out in the highly undermanned squad, he couldn't just decline the plea coming straight from the Hokage. At least Tsunade paired him up with Tenzou, which wasn't that bad. Moreover it felt natural, as if they've never been separated from each other all this time.

And altough Kakashi kept telling himself, that he was only returning Tenzou's favour for taking over his team after he ended up in the hospital due to exhaustion, he knew that he actually missed the time they've shared together.

* * *

Yamato caught himself holding his breath and with a blissful moan he exhaled the warm air, he had kept inside. The small visible whiff circling in the open reminded him of the actual cold and in order to heat up, he enhanced his pace. The faster he would report back to the Godaime, the faster he could head home to take a hot, reviving shower.

„_And be with Kakashi...-", _his thoughts wander off, obviously abashed of his mindset, he increased the speed of his footfalls. Rushing through the empty streets of Konoha, he could still feel the tight grip on his shoulder, saw the smiling face in front of his inner eyes, heard the soft voice calling his name, leaving the overly known trembling effect on the brownhaired shinobi.

Even so there was something else which calmed him, lowered his boosted heart rate, set his mind straight again. It was another thing which he devoted himself even more to, than to the thought of being with the older man.

Although the mission was successful, he couldn't get rid of this uneasy feeling growing in his stomach area. „Maybe it's better this way. At least Kakashi-Senpai won't notice my doubts," he mumbled as he finally reached his eagerly-awaited destination.

* * *

_**Ohayou,**_

_**Thanks for reading ~ hope u liked it and well see you in next chap! No wise words from me today xD cuz I'm kinda tired and iI finished it at 3 am Oo oh my..yep Oyasumi xD , xJKxD  
**_

_**P.s I rly have a problem filling my stories in the right genres...xD  
**_


	2. Chapter 2

Tsunade didn't even take her eyes off the table, as the door to her office was carefully opened. Only her irritating voice indicated that she had already noticed the late arriving shinobi. "You're behind schedule!", she lamented, her blank eyes still fixed on the huge amount of endless paperwork in front of her.

"I'm very sorry, Tsunade-sama," was Yamato's quick and smart apology. As soon as she heard the formal tone, her head raised from the unbearable work and she started to slowly examine the figure standing in her door frame.

Her face softened as she spotted a fully drenched and exhausted anbu captain, trying to pull himself together, while his only desire was to finally get home for some rest. _"He probably had an even worse day than me,"_ she thought bitterly and put on a light smile on her face.

Tsunade still had to scold him for running late and without being too harsh, she gladly put away the enormous stacks of paper, while lifting her voice to state the obvious, "That's not your style, Yamato!", even though she was empathising with the brownhaired, she couldn't neglect her authority as the fourth Hokage and let anyone do as one pleases.

Before he answered, he undid his mask, revealing his face to stress the meaning behind his words. "And it will never happen again," he promised her full-heartedly and even his body language insured her his honesty. Although he was an elite shinobi, not even Yamato could hide how embarrassing this situation was.

As Tsunade continued the talk, her attempt on staying focused also failed, "Kakashi is already at home, I guess?", her words full of pity, no matter how hard she tried to hide it and the question resembled more another one of her obvious statements, causing the brownhaired to answer it with a nod only.

Quickly regretting it, he added the reason for Kakashi's absence. "He didn't felt well, no injuries but exhausted. Unfortunately we've had encountered unforeseen struggles."

"Soka." Though she knew he wasn't lying, Yamato just couldn't, she was aware of the impact Kakashi had on the younger one, it had remained the same for more than 16 years now. The silverhaired always tended using this to his own selfish benefit and Yamato never dared to escaped from his tight grip, probably he didn't want to in the first place.

As far as she could remember, Kakashi was the first person that cheered Yamato up and stopped him from turning into an emotionless, careless simple being, whose only existence was based on serving as a loyal and efficient anbu, taking the lives of the enemies, which were threatening the leaf. And even though he took many lives, it was his Senpai who made him cherish every single one of them, till he finally realized what he should really use his strength for.

However, since Kakashi didn't seem to be hurt, it was more or less clear to her, that if Yamato's physical condition was stable enough to let him manage giving a report, Kakashi would have been certainly able to do so, as well.

A cordial chuckle escaped her lips, which immediately confused the anbu, who reacted with lightly raised eyebrows, causing his almond shaped eyes to look even deeper than usual, as if you could drown in their dark brown colour, if you would stare into them long enough.

Recalling all those memories made her smile, mostly because it didn't feel like they were long bygone. Yamato had not changed at all. He was still respecting his Senpai to the fullest and although it made her laugh, warmed her heart even, a small part of her wanted him to free himself from Kakashi.

She wouldn't be able to bear the day when one of them wasn't around any more, she knew that if this day ever comes the leaf wouldn't only lose one, but two of the greatest shinobi this generation ever brought to life. And no one would have the slightest chance to change that.

A slight cough ripped her out of her thoughts and with a brief gesture, she implied him to start his mission report. Largely, so that he could eventually be on his way home.

As if he could read her mind, the brunet immediately grabbed a scroll out of his left bag and gave it to Tsunade while he was speaking. "We could retrieve the object but we aren't quite sure if the information didn't slip through," he admitted displeased. The Hokage wasn't happy to hear that either, thinking about the several problems this could signify for the whole village.

She let the scroll roll playfully in her hand, checking the paper and finally the seal, which was surprisingly still intact. "Seal isn't broken," she murmured as her finger carefully touched the red, waxed seal on the mellow material.

The object continued to turn in her hands, when she tried to figure out why Yamato was convinced that the enemy obtained the information which was written on this particular scroll. "Apart from the unbroken seal, why would they attack you on your way back, if they already had the input they needed?", she argued against his unsaid theory.

The brownhaired's head tilted to the left side, his hand massaged his neck, as he thoughtfully searched for a way to put the feeling, he couldn't get rid of, in proper words. He even bit lightly onto his lower lip, an old habit usually appearing when he was utterly bothered.

The conclusions Tsunade had made didn't win him and though he couldn't prove her wrong, he just knew that it wasn't the case, that there was more to it. He had already considered the points the Hokage brought up, and he had an satisfying answer.

He still needed quiet a while till he opened his mouth and shared his worries with her. It was probably thanks to Tsunade's impatient and incomprehensible glare, that he could finally speak up.

"Among them was a Byakugan user...-", he paused to observe her reaction, "It wouldn't have been a problem for him to get the information without winding the scroll. And about this surprise attack...-", he stopped, once again searching for the right words as the pressure of his hand started to pain his neck.

The brunet released the grasp and sighed. Yamato was completely worn out and he couldn't prevent his worries from eating him up alive. He was this type of a guy, a complete worry-head, who rather thinks things over one time to much as long as it served his purpose, than risking to miss something important in the end.

And especially because the Hokage knew this characteristics of him all too well and though she of course knew that he wasn't trying to be arrogant by crushing her logic with his simple one, he had a hard time expressing himself today.

"...it could have been a distraction," to his relief, she completed his sentence. He simply nodded and the room turned awkwardly silent again. Yamato wasn't sure, if he was already allowed to leave and didn't want to ask for it, since Tsunade seemed to be deeply in thought, maybe even already planning her next steps.

But before she would be able to fully concentrate on this matter at hand, there was something else blocking her mind. She escaped from her train of thoughts, revived her frozen movement to turn to the anbu, a serious look on her face.

"The Byakugan user. Did you recognize him?" Although the Byakugan was the Kekkei Genkai of one of the famous clans in Konoha and should only exist amidst their lines she didn't expect him to be identified that easily. It was a big clan after all and no one knew, if there wasn't someone out there, hiding from the village on purpose.

That's why she wondered, why Yamato's answer was taking so long again, he couldn't be that tired of reporting back, could he? She looked straight into his face and suddenly her jaw dropped open. "You did?", she asked surprised.

"I am not sure. I can't say who he was, but I have this feeling as if I've known him a long time ago," he replied to her, his voice was a barely noticeable whisper, as if he hoped the wind could take care of it, and together with his whispering, the worries would fade, being swept away by a cool breeze.

If what this shinobi reminded him of was true, he wouldn't even know how this was supposed to be possible, it shouldn't. But this fact didn't reassure him, his rational mind was blended by what he actually felt, as he caught a glimpse of this men.

It didn't take Tsunade much longer to figure out why Yamato wasn't acting normal, why this mission had clouded his mind and was still messing with his consciousness.

In silence the two of them were exchanging meaningful glances. She realized that he wasn't only shivering because of the cold, that his skin wasn't tingling because of the sudden change from the night air into her heated office.

While she was studying the tension his whole body was building up, the feeling of being lost was writ large in his face, her mind travelled into the past a second time this evening. It didn't make her smile though. Tsunade was the first to regain her speech, "Did you tell Kakashi?"

With his eyes closed, he shook his head slowly. There was no way he could have told him. They had never revealed much off their own past life and even though he desperately wanted to know everything there was to know about his Senpai, it was convenient for him that Kakashi didn't know much about his earlier life either.

And he had no intend to change that, he didn't want to explain to him who or rather what he actually was. Where his, so called strength, truly came from. Yamato unconsciously clenched his fist, trying to prevent it from shaking was a waste of the energy he had left.

The blonde stood up to move closer to him, her own body was slightly trembling, in anger and sadly also in fear. There was no sense in lying to herself. By dropping her hand gentle onto his shoulder, she attempted to calm him. "We can't be sure yet. But if you're right we will prepare ourselves," her voice did not allow any doubts.

Yamato didn't expect her sudden touch and though it was comforting him, he caught himself being distracted by her hand on his shoulder. It was similar to the grip he felt a little while ago, it did give him consolation, soothed him, it even cheered him up, but something was missing, wasn't right. He would definitely prefer the first one.

Still trapped in his inappropriate thoughts, Tsunade had to repeat herself, raising her voice, "But for starters, you and Kakashi should get some sleep. If Kakashi only looks half as terrible as you do, it would be irresponsible from me to assign you two on even a simple D-Rank mission."

Yamato's head faced the ground, trying to prevent a heavy sigh he left the room through the front door. As he walked out of the big, circle-shaped building, he found himself in complete darkness.

"Time flies," he wondered, maybe his senses were only too tired to work correctly, but he didn't notice that their meeting had been taking so long.

While he slowly passed several blocks, he tilted his head up to the dark sky, a white shimmering full moon was accompanying him and Tsunade's voice still echoed in his head. _"If Kakashi only looks half as terrible..." _

With the picture of his wet haired Senpai crossing his mind he chuckled amused and started to wander off the streets, the same way as before, but this time he followed the dim light into the other direction._"I bet he is already asleep."_

He could hear the snow cracking beneath his feet and listened to the chilly silence, which was only to be disturbed by the roaring of the upcoming icy wind. Yamato's hand automatically dig into his pocket, searching for his scarf, but he instantly displaced the idea putting it on to save him from the cold air. His scarf was drenched from the rain as much as all of his other clothes were, wearing it would only make him feel worse.

From time to time he could also hear a few sounds coming from homeless cats or dogs, searching the village for food and obviously warm shelter. If he had to choose between them, the brownhaired would for sure go with the cats.

He was significantly more interested in their intelligent, devoted and loving behaviour than into dogs, which didn't have any valuable, similar characteristics. To him, a puppy only submissively follows his master, without ever asking why. A cat on the contrary would only follows if it sees a use for itself, no matter if the good was food or tender loving care.

Yamato's smile froze as he revised his opinion about dogs, at least a few certain ones. And though he was craving for Pakkun never to find out about what he just called his race to be like, he still preferred cats.

Whereby it wasn't right to compare Pakkun, Bisuke and all of Kakashi's other Ninken to normal dogs, they were special and he cared about every each and single one of them. Back at the anbu they have spent so much time together, he saw the younger one's growing up under Kakashi's care and he remembered cursing the "washing day" more than anything else.

Pakkun and Bisuke were his favourites, he knew both of them the longest and could always tell them what troubled him if Kakashi wasn't around, or rather when he was his problem.

Yamato smiled softly, "Don't be mad at me you two," he mumbled and while his frozen body was moving through the eerie village, getting closer to their blissfully heated apartment, his mind travelled far away, into a past which seemed closer this day than it had ever felt since Kakashi left him.

Tsunade's worries were appropriate, Yamato was a prisoner of his past, but just how little did both of them know.

* * *

_**Ohayou,**_

_**I don't know what to say except for ~yay~ I finished it before the weekend..so..I can continue on Chap 3 ..! Yes I have no life. xD**_


	3. Chapter 3

_Tsunade's worries were appropriate, Yamato was a prisoner of his past, but just how little did both of them know._

* * *

Tenzou was only twelve when they had met the first time. Though a lot was happening in the following years, he would never forget the day he joined the anbu. He would never forget how it all started.

The Sandaime introduced him to Gekko Hayate, an, at the first glance, rather pitiful looking boy, not much older than himself. In fact he was only two years older than Tenzou and had short, black hair, a katana strapped on his back, always close at hand. Hayate used his forehead protector as a bandana, the emblem at the front.

His greeting was friendly and the brunet felt very welcome, but the boy was really somewhat strange, Tenzou definitely needed some time to get used to him.

Hayate was even smaller than him, which is nearly impossible remembering all these guys picking on him for being so short, his skin was pale and dark rings were covering his eyes, no matter if he had a good nights rest or if he had been striving through the woods for weeks. Plus his awkward coughing.

There wasn't a day when Hayate looked completely healthy. But still, the brunet came to appreciate him very quickly, he was indeed more than just a great help for a newcomer, being friendly and not far apart from his age.

Furthermore it wasn't like Tenzou to judge a book by its cover. And being obsessed with appearances wasn't his thing either.

Though he had to admit that he was curious about him. He felt like they shared a deeper connection, maybe a similar past. However, Hayate wasn't prying about him at all, which made Tenzou feel at ease.

To him, the best questions to ask were no questions. Because everything else was always related to his uncommon skills and trying to explain them, without revealing too much of what exactly happened to him wasn't an easy task to handle, even though he had quite a lot of experience by now.

But Hayate was quiet, not very talkative and clearly no one to be devoured by his curiosity. He spoke when it was needed and explained him everything with the few words necessary. Patiently he showed him around the place.

In the end Tenzou couldn't be more happy with him being his supervisor. Maybe the Sandaime knew this from the very beginning.

Before the other members arrived the blackhaired decided to show him their storeroom. The place were all the anbu equipment could be found.

It wasn't that large, but filled with different boxes and cupboards from the button to the top. A huge glass-frame was covering the left side of the room, protecting different swords, shurikens and other weapons, while the right side was crowded with tons of clothing bags, training materials and different kind of useful accessories. And it was dusty. Very dusty.

While he followed Hayate deeper into the room, he had to hide his face, preventing him from inhaling and coughing up all these dust particles. He found himself being confused by Hayate, who was not coughing at all, though it really would have been appropriate in this situation.

Suddenly the boy stopped and his head cocked to one side, signalizing Tenzou to look at what he was pointing at.

"We're roughly about the same high," he stated coldly.

_"Actually...", _the brunet thought smilingly but rather kept it for himself.

"These should suit you."

"Suit me?", the brownhaired asked out of confusion, not sure what he was supposed to do. His gaze streaked over the light brown cartons till he eyed the label. "Equipment."

"You want me to change, right now?" Hayate only nodded, as if it was a huge pain to actually think about answering this obvious question.

"I understand. But shouldn't we get to the meeting point soon? I don't want to be late on the first day," Tenzou proposed his question very shyly, causing the calm blackhaired boy to laugh out loud.

"Don't worry. WE won't be late," he snickered and his head turned around, facing the room ahead them. "I'll be back in a minute," he stated after his smiled had disappeared and he walked away.

Tenzou sighed as Hayate turned his back on him, his hands were rubbing through his thick, brown hair. He hated to be late. He hated people who were late, but being the one causing the delay, that was something he couldn't stand at all. On the other hand, he was curious about the sudden laughter. He was sure that his question wasn't one to smile at.

While he worried his brain about the weird behavior of his supervisor, he hurried and opened the boxes, fishing for the right sizes and putting them on in an inhuman speed. If he was going to be late, than he would at least try to minimize the damage and the longer he kept thinking about it, the later it would get.

If only Tenzou would have accepted and trusted what Hayate said, then he could have granted himself a lot more sleep than he did in the first days of his anbu career. But well, no one could have known what the hidden meaning behind these words were. Especially not the "punctuality in person."

It wasn't long when Hayate reappeared, carrying a small black box, coughing his way up to were Tenzou just finished to change his clothes.

He stopped right in front of him and put it down beneath his feet. He looked up and smiled in agreement, "Looks good. Everything suits?"

The brownhaired nodded. Indeed. The outfit felt very comfortable. He never imagined it that smooth on his skin. It was probably the perfect material to remain in for longer missions at foreign, outside terrains.

After examining the new gray and black fabric on his body, he opened his mouth, but before he could formulate his next inquiry, he felt a large hand on his back. Hitting hard and leaving a painful impression on it.

"Here you are Hayate. I've been wondering. Say who's this little boy here?"

The blackhaired's eyes switched from the small existence in front, who was feverishly rubbing his aching back, a small fire lit in Tenzou's usually rather calm eyes, to the figure standing next to him.

"Genma. Try to be nice to our new comrade." It didn't really sound like a scold, but that was probably because Hayate had to raise his hand up to his mouth, covering a deep cough in the middle of his sentence.

Tenzou's eyes moved to the apparently rather unfriendly guy and mustered the sight in front of him.

A tall men, especially tall compared to the two small, darker haired boys, sharing the same air to breath right now and his body was rather impressive. He surely looked fit and strong. Muscles gracing his frame.

Tenzou could tell that he was older, at least in the early 20ths.

Leaving his physical built aside his first impression wasn't a good one. His headband was hiding his middle-long, dark blond hair in a way similar to Hayate's, but if it was Tenzou's turn to describe it, he wore it the wrong way around, with the sign of their village to the back.

It was disturbing at first. Furthermore he was chewing on a Senbon, the Shinobi weapon of his choice as Tenzou were to find out.

_"Hopefully he wasn't this careless in battle,"_ he already imagined the worst. Tenzou really had been a very strict worrywart back then.

Only a short while later he was being explained that the figure was Shiranui Genma, the second member of his new team. But before Genma even had the chance to change his attitude and improve his impression, Tenzou had made up his mind. He would definitely stick to Hayate.

The following, actual greeting only supported his decision, was it a rather short and sarcastic comment, "Well, I wonder how long this brat will make it. He doesn't look like anything special, does he?"

It wasn't worth a comment and both of the younger men were not going to fall for it. Hayate was rolling his eyes and bent down, opening up the box beneath their feet, not letting Genma hold him back in his duty.

With skilled hands, he removed the locks and the box flew open. It was full of masks. Different type of animals were beautifully painted on them, a huge amount of several shapes and colors.

"Remember, the mask you'll choose will be the one you'll wear your whole life," Hayate seemed to have noticed his admiration for the various options and advised him to carefully decide on them.

Tenzou nodded slowly, but before he could raise his voice, the blond interrupted him, again, "Don't worry about that," he chuckled, his tone was far from trustable, "Your "whole life" is probably not going to be much longer."

It didn't take Tenzou more to see Genma as the "prankster" of their team and he wasn't particularly concerned about his little preach. He knew what being an anbu meant, he knew he could die on every mission. It was nothing he worried about for himself. Death was never something to worry about in the first place.

Tenzou sighed, but Genma wasn't finished yet, "It's more like. Right now till the beginning of the meeting, brat," he mocked the new, youngest member.

"Beginning of the meeting?", the boy wondered. Though the chosen wording bothered him, the new "nickname" disturbed him more. Being called "brat" all day was something he would like to avoid, if still possible. Of course it wasn't. As if it was up to him to decide that.

"You'll see young brat, you'll see," Genma was grinning ear to ear now, which made Tenzou feel even worse. At least the "young" isn't meant as an insult, is it indeed a fact that he is way younger than the rest of them.

Usually it was something to be proud of on normal occasions. With his twelve years Tenzou was apart from the two geniuses Sasuke Itachi and Hatake Kakashi, which had both entered the anbu at age eleven, not simply the youngest of the team, but one of the youngest candidates being announced an anbu.

He wasn't so sure if Genma was mocking him for that reason or if it was just his personal urge to do so. _"The later wasn't that devious,"_ he assumed disappointed.

He didn't wanted to be treated differently because of his age. Tenzou would never compare himself to the admirable geniuses, he wasn't that talented. He had more in common with a outstanding freak than with someone gifted like the two shinobi he mentioned before. It wasn't his talent that got him here, it was his implanted, unique ability, nothing more but sadly also nothing less.

And of course the great incapability of the leaf village to accept him like he was and its Sandaime's obligation to act and solve the "problem", as he was called so many times before, were indeed helpful to decide his future, as the Hokage gladly emphasized it, within the anbu.

Although he couldn't hide his anger about the circumstances, he held no grudge against the Sandaime, he knew that he couldn't have acted differently. Well, except for solving it the way some of the elder people would have loved too, eternally silent humans keep the best secrets as they liked to put it.

The brownhaired was honestly grateful that the Hokage refused to let them use him as a guinea pig and at least gave him a chance to live a nearly normal life. So it wasn't a big surprise for him, being called into an anbu team at early age, since he had spent his time under anbu observation since his fourth birthday.

Finally Hayate spoke up, encouraging Tenzou, "Being with us is not half as bad as Genma likes to picture it, don't worry," he smiled.

His kind words stopped his daydreaming and he eventually bent down, to take a closer look on the masks. Though there were so many of them, he immediately noticed the one he would proudly wear for more than 16 years from this moment on. Every single anbu mask was symbolizing an animal and his was showing a, with fine red and green lines designed, cat-face on it.

He grabbed for it and turned the cold porcelain in his hands, with a smile he nodded at Hayate, "I'll take this one."

As he reached for his bag, where he intended to secure his mask in, Genma suddenly moved closer in order to glance at it. To make it easier, for both of them, Tenzou sighed and held the mask up with his hand, showing it off to the blond guy.

Suddenly Genma started to laugh as his eyes wander from the cat-face to Tenzou's. Even Hayate couldn't restrain a slight chuckle as the older man had started to make fun of him, again.

Tenzou didn't know what it was this time, but he decided to simply ignore it. He neither had the time nor the patience to ask for it. Luckily there was no need for it, he would figure out the reason soon enough.

"Shouldn't we hurry to our meeting place?", Tenzou asked instead, casting a nervous glance at the clock on the wall behind them.

"Don't worry. WE won't be late," Genma spit out the words, similar to the ones Hayate used before, but despite his words, he turned on his heels and left the room. Hayate and Tenzou exchanged a nod and moved along, following him outside of the storage room.

While he was silently walking next to them, Tenzou was irritated by the new uniform he was wearing. It felt way too light to be of actual use. Of course he knew heavy clothes were quite ineffective in battle, probably even dangerous, but this felt so light, as if a small kunai could already cut right through the material with no trouble at all.

Noticing the worried look on the brownhaired's face, Hayate paused his chit chatting with Genma and put on an assuring smile,

"It's my family's business, you know. The fabric may seem to be very light in weight but we actually use the best metal and create synthetics, which allow us to move freely and fast without giving us less than the maximum of protection," as his speech went on he sounded more like an ambitious salesman, than a deadly shinobi, "It beats off Kunais thrown from the distance of 25m or more, is impermeable to water and feels pretty cool on the skin, doesn't it?", he finally ended, creating an opening for one of Genma's sarcastic comments.

"No wonder this stuff is so popular if you're the one selling it, Hayate," Genma tossed in, as expected he was visible amused by his smooth talking about clothes.

While they passed several corridors on their way to the conference room A12, Tenzou closely watched the interaction between his new partners. Despite their completely different personalities, they seemed to get along well. Laughter filled the air as they joked around, mostly about stuff Tenzou wasn't familiar with and though Hayate kindly tried to explain it to him, it was rather troublesome than entertaining.

At some point Hayate felt the same and dropped the attempt of letting him in into their merry secrets. A wise decision Tenzou approved of happily. Too much information, especially unnecessary ones, would only slow down his thinking process.

Moreover was he already nervous enough. He was desperate to meet the two remaining members of the team. A very kind woman and their captain, as he was informed by Genma, which was actually the very first useful bit of info coming out of the blond's mouth.

* * *

10:30. It had already been 1 1/2 hours past the agreed time and there had been no sign of the two missing anbu. Tenzou was seated on the windowsill, gazing out at the courtyard while the older shinobi were sitting at the nearest table, playing cards and drinking one coffee after another.

It was too early to actually observe anything on the outside and Tenzou's head turned around to face Genma, who was enjoying the last sip of his third drink.

"Forgive me, Genma-san, but could I ask you something?", he asked as polite as possible.

"Nope," the blond instantly thundered back, catching the brunet by surprise. Tenzou stumbled over his lack of words and he automatically turned to Hayate for help.

The blackhaired was staring fiercely at his friend, "Stop this and be a good boy, will ya?", his voice was stern, as he hissed at him, but Genma only burst out in an humiliating laugh.

"Oh come on, I can't help it. Making fun of them is just too easy," he smiled through his tears, causing Hayate to shake his head in pure disbelief. He sighed and his eyes inspected the even more dazzled brownhaired, "Just ask what you want to know. Even Genma is able to give reasonable answers from time to time at least."

A little embarrassed, he followed his advice, "Not long ago you were talking about "How long the brat", well how long I," he paused shortly, secretly cursing that he refereed to himself as "brat" to begin with, "How long I would make it. What exactly did you mean by that?"

"That's an easy one, brat," Genma said, stressing the last part of his sentence very slowly.

Tenzou knew that he just stigmatized himself with this stupid name, at any rate Genma would not let go of it that readily.

"So far we are the only ones, who successfully joined this team. The captain is picky and if he doesn't like you, he will sent you back home to your mommy and daddy."

The Sandaime already told him that the possibility of declining him existed, but he didn't know that only a handful shinobi had been accepted by that particular captain. Still he wasn't really worried, he was trained to be here ever since he could remember. There was no way that he would be declined. You could call it the irony of his very own fate, but he was clearly made for serving in the anbu, if only due to his unique skills.

So it weren't the news he was struggling with, it were Gemna's last words that made him grind his teeth in anger. He was close on loosing his rationality and bit onto his lower lip, trying to keep calm. But this time it didn't work, even though he would like to pretend otherwise, he was still only a kid with his twelve years of age.

Hayate noticed his sudden change in behavior and afraid of another one of Genma's remarks, he whispered ironically, "Awesome, Genma, Satisfied now?"

But either the blond didn't care much or he just wasn't aware of the brunet's lost composure, because Genma only raised his hands in confusion, mimicking an innocent, apologetic look on his face.

The taste of copper and the sudden pain made Tenzou realize the position he was in and he quickly averted his eyes, drowned the anger and wiped away the small drip of blood on his lips. With his calmest voice he retorted sharply, "How convenient. Looks like I have no choice than to stay in your team then. I don't have any parents."

Hayate was the first one to offer his condolences, as if he had already seen it coming. Tenzou only nodded in response, obviously more interested in Genma's reaction.

To his surprise, all he could see were sincere worries. The blond's head faced the ground and he immediately apologized for his uncalled words, even calling him by his actual name, "I am very sorry, Tenzou. I didn't intend to."

Back then the brownhaired wasn't sure why, but he believed him without questioning. He realized that Genma wasn't that much of a jerk, he pretended to be. And now it was his turn to feel sorry for his disparaging tone, he was using before. Tenzou sighed deeply, cursing himself for his childish attitude and tried to put on a casual smile, "It's fine. I'm sorry for my inappropriate tone as well."

The reassuring grin on the blond's face confirmed his assumption. The two members he had met were more than just acceptable.

After this little incident Genma grabbed another can of coffee, while filling his cup he started to moan loudly in annoyance, "Two hours would definitely be a new record, ne Hayate?"

"Get over it," he replied as simple and short as that, rather focusing on the hot and refreshing liquid in front of him.

Tenzou followed their conversation, a questioning look written over his face. In his opinion it was unbelievable to put someone in charge of a captain's position, who couldn't even manage to appear on time to his meetings.

Trying to hide these feelings, he asked very carefully, "Is he often that late?" He was looking straight at Genma, he didn't want to interrupt Hayate, who was still holding the hot beverage in his hands.

He was relieved as Genma shook his head with resolve, "No, he actually managed to be here on time for four times so far." - "Five," Hayate corrected him, but Genma tilted his head slightly, his voice overflowing with sarcasm, "The last time doesn't count. I'm sure he wasn't punctual on purpose."

The amount of terrifying pictures forming in his head suddenly increased, as he tried to imagine his squad captain on the little information he had. But before it could get any worse Hayate stepped in, "Don't worry. He really is a great captain."

Normally he wouldn't doubt Hayate, he didn't give him any reason to up until now, but he wasn't fully convinced of his words. The captain would need to assure him of his qualities on his own.

Another 15 minutes passed and Genma used the time to play around with his Senbon or asking Hayate unnerved and repeatedly for the time.

Meanwhile Tenzou had sat down at their table and searched his pocket for a square block of paper and a pencil. He started to blackened certain fields of the paper, as he felt the interested eyes of Hayate on him.

Suddenly, coming out of nowhere, there was another thing he perceived and before Hayate could have asked him what he was doing, a well known voice, coming from their back, echoed through the room.

"Hanjie. Interesting. You two should give it a try, too." The person stepping out of the thick and unpleasant teleportation fog was conclusively a man.

_"The captain," _Tenzou reasoned silently, excited and relieved at the same time about him finally showing up.

He was tall and thin, at least 1,80m, very athletic. Tenzou remembered how he described Genma's physical condition as fascinating, but his captain exceeded him by far. Even through the anbu wear, he could see the fine muscles covering his body.

After the mist lifted, he noticed another interesting detail, his silver hair. Tenzou swallowed hard as he saw the unusual hair-color, it looked lighter and warmer as the one he remembered, but still...he had to push the upcoming thoughts aside and try to forget the painful memories of the person sharing similar hair.

Quickly he surveyed the rest of his captain. Nearly half of his face was covered by a blue mask and his right eye was hidden beneath his lightly tilted headband as well.

The silverhaired moved directly towards Tenzou, who immediately stood up when he had noticed the presence of another person, and friendly waved at him, "Yo! You're the new guy, ne? Nice to meet you. I'm Hatake Kakashi."

Tenzou's mind went black for a second, realizing that he was dealing with the famous genius everyone in Konoha knows about, he wanted his first impression to be at least acceptable.

Before the brownhaired spoke up, he bowed deeply, "I look forward to work under you, Kakashi-Senpai. My name is Tenzou." Kakashi's left eye wandered from the boy to Genma and Hayate, before he smiled back at him, clearly amused by his new Kohai it curved into a huge grin.

"She couldn't come," he then directed to the whole group.

_"She?"_, Tenzou was slightly disappointed, _"Then I won't meet my whole team today."_

"Unfortunately we're in a hurry and have to postpone the getting to know each other," he paused and mustered Tenzou, "You're already suited up. Good job, Hayate."

Genma's mouth dropped open, clearly offended by Kakashi's assumption Hayate was the one helping the new guy, but the blackhaired only grinned and poked Genma's side with his elbow, knowing that he would be sulking about Kakashi not even expecting him to be useful.

The silverhaired nodded satisfied and faced his new Kohai once more.

"Which animal?", he asked happily. At first the brownhaired didn't understand a single word, but he soon figured out that his Senpai was asking about his mask. He carefully opened his bag and put it out, showing it to him.

As soon as Kakashi set his eyes on the porcelain, he couldn't help but laugh. Tenzou remembered the same reaction from Genma and Hayate back when he chose it and waited eagerly for an explanation.

The silver haired man smiled knowingly and his hand pulled out his own mask from his bag. He put it on and suddenly Tenzou felt terribly embarrassed. A dog was staring at him.

Another chuckle escaped Kakashi's lips, "How cute," he placed his hand on Tenzou's shoulder and smiled at him,"I think you'll fit perfectly in our team."

* * *

Yamato was grinning ear to ear as the memories kept flashing in front of his eyes. The way home didn't felt like walking to his apartment any longer, it felt like he took a trip down memory lane as well and before the picture of young Kakashi completely faded away, he whispered smilingly to himself, "I've always preferred cats, haven't I, Senpai? You were the only exception."

* * *

_**Ohayou,**_

_**I am so very sorry that it took me so long. After I've been sick for these two weeks I had a lot to catch up at school and stuff so I was terribly busy. Enjoy this longer chapter and I hope next one won't take me that long again! Have a lovely weekend ~ xJKxD**_


	4. Chapter 4

Without a sound the door carefully opened up and Yamato entered the floor, closing and locking the entrance behind him as silent as he could.

"I'm home," he whispered to himself, highly doubting any response.

The brownhaired quickly got rid of his wet clothes, throwing them carelessly onto the ground, scarf, hand gloves, shirt and trousers left a unique trail until he was only wearing his skinny, dark-blue long underwear. His bare feet hid in a pair of warm sandals and he eventually made his way to the living room.

The apartment was pretty small, a two-roomed flat with a minor kitchen and a regular bathroom.

Since there was only one bedroom, Yamato insisted to be the one sleeping on the couch. After all it was him, who crashed into Kakashi's apartment as soon as he was told to temporary take over team seven's lead.

Truth be told, he didn't really intend to ask him for a place to stay, in fact it was Kakashi, who more or less forced him into moving in when they had met for the first time in ages at the hospital again.

And since the silverhaired needed someone to help him out with all the grocery shopping, general house-holding and other unreasonable stuff he let his Kohai do until he was fully recovered from the long time of being chained to a hospital's bed, he immediately took the chance.

The brownhaired eventually agreed once Kakashi explained to him how much easier all the reporting on the team's progress would be, though he felt very anxious at first. They haven't seen each other for years, abruptly moving in together was quite a sudden change of events.

In the end he somehow ended up living there longer than planned, but both of them didn't seem to bother. It was more than convenient for the older man since Yamato was pretty orderly and never once complained about cleaning up after him.

The home itself was nothing out of the ordinary, at least not in a positive way. Kakashi never cared much about interior design and apart from the usual necessary things, like his bed or his books, he didn't bought much to make his place feel comfy.

As soon as Yamato noticed the dull atmosphere, he used his ability to create a few more pieces of furniture and convinced his Senpai to at least buy some things, which were absolutely indispensable if he wanted him to stay. Surprisingly, he had agreed without any resistance.

After they had bought the stuff by the easiest way – the cheapest they could find, the flat was still nothing special, but you could at least call it a place which welcomes you home after a long, uncomfortable mission in the woods.

But right now something stood out. Yamato's face lit up as he saw the already occupied couch and all the papers spread almost everywhere across the room.

Kakashi was lying sideways, all rolled up on the sofa, sleeping soundly. Due his calm breathing, his chest rose and sunk in a steady rhythm, causing the brownhaired to get sleepy just by watching him.

Drowsiness wasn't the only emotion awakened though. The view was simply astonishing.

Kakashi's uncovered face was buried in one arm, his hair still wet, turning into a total mess and while his legs were practically hugging each other because the room got fairly cold at night, his other hand was holding on to a close-by pillow.

His smile grew wider as he approached his Senpai. Even while living together it was a rare occasion for Yamato to experience how Kakashi looked without his mask on.

And he wouldn't mind to see his face more often. Kakashi was a handsome man, even covered in his blue fabric, but without it, it was hard to keep yourself calm and concentrated around him.

The brownhaired chuckled and frowned at the same time when he saw his silver hair dripping water-drops onto the sofa.

"You're gonna catch a cold, Senpai," he scolded him playfully, before he unlocked his gaze from the beauty in front of him.

"_Did he actually try to do the reports?"_, he couldn't really believe his own thoughts, but there was no other explanation why Kakashi fell asleep on the couch, leaving such a hilarious mess of paperwork behind.

Yamato bent down and carefully picked up some of the papers, his eyes were wandering through the pages.

* * *

"_How long did the mission take? -**Too long.**_

_Which costs did you have while travelling – **None, I have Tenzou.**_

_Any other difficulties? - **Don't make me repeat myself, it was too long.**"_

* * *

Yamato barely managed to restrain his laughter as he read the very ineffectively filled mission review.

He sighed smilingly and his eyes switched once more from his new assignment, waiting patiently in his hands to his sleeping Senpai.

Secretly he mocked himself, for actually believing that Kakashi would do the paperwork.

But he wasn't mad, after all he was talking about Kakashi, and being completely honest Yamato wouldn't want him to be any different.

Besides, on a different note, "he looks so cute sleeping like that," he murmured a little absent-minded.

Yamato swallowed hard and averted his gaze by turning his head. His body built up a familiar tense and in no time he put away the sheets and fled for the bathroom, all flustered.

"What am I thinking," he breathed confused and splashed some water into his tired face.

"_Should I wake him?"_, he wondered as he wiped himself clean and started to dry his hair with a towel, _"But it's late and he deserves the sleep."_

Eventually he decided to let him sleep there and instead he would be taking the bed this night. _His bed._

Trying not to wake him, he rushed through the room right into the bedroom. Seconds later, carrying some blankets, Yamato hurried back to the couch. The grin on his face was still present as he attentively covered Kakashi with his warm blanket.

With care he tried to hide Kakashi's whole body under the warm fabric, avoiding to directly touch him with his still freezing cold hands.

Imagining his warmth alone was highly tempting. Enough to make Yamato consider the feeling of the pale skin burning under his icy fingers. But he didn't want him to wake up, nor knowing what he was thinking about.

Yamato hold his breath and kneeled down to get closer. If he wouldn't do something about his hair, he would definitely get sick. Slowly hiding his bare hand under the blanket, he carefully lifted his head a little, just so much that he was able to push a towel underneath him and replace the wet pillow with a new one.

They were so close to each other, that Yamato feared his heartbeat alone would be able to raise him out of his sleep if he stayed any longer by his side. That he didn't wake up and that Yamato could escape from the captivating face being within his grasp were both miracles.

Once his Senpai was taken care of, he immediately picked up the documents with one hand and the few wet clothes with the other and left for the bedroom.

With a huge sigh he orderly sorted the sheets and put them on a nearby table, while he threw the clothing into the washing tub.

He was feeling utterly nervous. "I'll better save the paperwork for tomorrow."

Actually he wanted to take a hot and long shower to relax his weary muscles and rest his sleep- deprived mind, but what had awaited him in the living room completely caught him off guard.

He expected Kakashi to be asleep already, but not on his place, not where he could see him,

"_...and easily touch him if I wanted to...",_ Yamato mumbled once again, slapping himself mentally, _"Stop this nonsense!"_

But his thoughts were already wandering off, making it impossible to just fall asleep.

Since he couldn't shower without waking him up, he at least wanted to dry his rain-drenched body, before he changed into fresh and more comfortable pieces of clothing. Leaving for the bathroom he took a leggings and shirt out of the drawer.

The bath was the only room, which was temperature-controlled through the whole year. A place where they could always warm themselves up or cool down, depending on the weather.

Yamato yearned for this warmth as he rubbed the smooth towel all over his exposed skin. The cosy material left a burning sensation on the several spots where it cast away the cold.

He forcefully caressed his neck to ease the weariness, dried his hair while kneading his brown head and temple, wiping his back and chest to heat himself up.

"So cute," he whispered absently as the picture of Kakashi crossed his mind. With eyes closed, he concentrated on the image. The face hidden by his ruffled hair, the light skin glimmered from his hot shower and his warm lips were looking so inviting, especially compared to his own freezing ones.

"Ngh," a small moan escaped his lips as he caught himself massaging his lower area rather than just drying it. Slightly shocked he opened his eyes to see what his mind had caused, breathing brokenly as he felt the heat in his groin rising.

Without thinking any further he shakily leaned against the door, pressed his body against it as he increased the movement of the towel. It was impossible to stop now.

The liquid was already leaking into the white cloth, his heart and head were throbbing in an intensively high rhythm and he hastily licked his right hand's fingers and replaced the towel.

Keeping his voice as low as possible, he soon released a pleasurable moan and barely able to keep himself standing on his feet, he exhaustedly let himself fall down on the floor.

Sitting on the ground he rested until his breathing was returning to normal. With a first sign of shame he stood up and cleaned himself up, one more time.

It didn't take him long to be overwhelmed by the comfort Kakashi's bed was offering and soon after lying down he soundly fell asleep. Of course easing his mind back at the bathroom did its trick, too.

* * *

"Kakashi-Sensei?! It's Sakura. Please open up!", a high-pitched and annoyed voice echoed through the apartment and was probably waking up the entire building.

But Yamato only slowly escaped from his deep slumber. Scared of facing the clock on the night-stand, mocking him as so often, that he slept for barely a couple of hours, he turned to the other side, eyes still closed.

"Not my business, she didn't call for me," he repeated in his head, trying to ignore her yelling. "Tsunade assured us to have the day off."

A huge yawn escaped his tired body and he forced his eyes closed, but her voice reached him nonetheless, causing his earlier mantra to shatter into broken pieces.

"Yamato-Taichou! I know you're here. I'll smash the door open if you won't answer!", she screamed, allowing no doubt about the threat being a serious one.

"Crap," exhausted he buried his head deeper into the pillow and tried to focus his mind on waking up when suddenly a tight hand grabbed his back.

"She's calling you, Tenzou. You should answer," a sleepy tingling voice was almost brushing his ear, belonging to the silverhaired man, who was leaning in closer than what was good for Yamato this early in the morning.

Immediately Yamato's eyes were widely open, not sure if the sudden warm touch or the husky murmur near his ear or the fact alone that Kakashi was lying sideways, next to him, eyes deeply peering into his sleeping face, was shocking him the most.

"Senpai?! What are you doing here?!", his naturally brown and huge eyes grew even bigger and trying to put some distance between them, he nearly stumbled out of the bed.

"I should be the one asking this question. It's my bed after all.", his voice was stern and he didn't seem to be bothered by his presence at all. He casually propped his head on the hand, which had just touched Yamato's naked skin.

"I'm sorry, I..just..You..," the flustered brownhaired tried helplessly to explain what happened last night, but Kakashi didn't let him.

"I won't mind if you'd finally go and answer the door," the tone in his voice changed, sounded rather amused by now. At least he could go back to sleep while his Kohai would take care of Sakura.

"Sure, Senpai," he responded quickly and jumped out of the bed. Aware of his official day off, he didn't bother to switch into other clothes and ran to the front door.

Suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks and turned around, his eyes met Kakashi's, who was now lying on his back, head rested on both of his arms.

"Thanks for letting me sleep in your bed, Kakashi-Senpai," he was turning bright red as soon as the words escaped his lips and trying to hide his embarrassment he bowed down and left quickly without looking him in the eye again.

Usually the silverhaired would chuckle about his weird behaviour, even though he already got used to it long ago, but this time he just quietly watched him leaving the room.

Head in the clouds, he raised his hand and stretched it, as if he wanted to reach out to the wooden ceiling of their apartment. He glanced at his bare fingers and could still feel the warmth of the skin they had just touched seconds ago.

Whispering so silently only he could hear it, his arm fell powerless back onto the bed, "You'll never understand, you idiot..."

* * *

"Finally! You made me wait here for – Wait, why are you dressed like this?!", the pink-haired girl halted her preaching and critically glanced at Yamato's casual clothing.

Yamato smiled shyly, his thumb was nervously scratching his forehead while he told her about Tsunade's orders without revealing any information about their anbu mission, "Kakashi-Senpai and I are both free today – what brings me to my next question. What exactly are you doing here, Sakura?"

Even though he didn't intend to sound rough, he could hardly hide his overwhelming fatigue, which caused him to be more sour than usual.

Sakura's facial expression softened by the time she explained her arrival, "I'm very sorry to say that, but _I'm_ here because of Tsunade's orders," she paused, her voice now full of sympathy, "It seems like team seven was assigned to an escorting mission."

"_A mission? I knew Tsunade could be a brutal lady but that was definitely overkill," _he pitied himself, before asking Sakura for further details.

"We'll be heading out in 30 minutes at the main gate. I've already informed Sai and Naruto, I guess you'll talk to Kakashi-Sensei." She forced a smile and as Yamato nodded in response, what else was he supposed to do, she turned on her heels but stopped suddenly.

"One more thing. Tsunade said, that the client specifically insisted to be accompanied by us," her tone got more serious as she finished her sentence,

"And she wouldn't accept anyone else than Naruto."

* * *

_**Ohayou,**_

_**I'm beat - this is taking way more chapters than planned Oo Really curious how man chaps I'll end up once I'm finished xD But well I like this chap..fun writing it..and I hope you like it, too ~ and next chap will be a little faster and more concentrated on the story xD **_

_**Since I'm torn between this story and "After the War", I kind of write them simultaneously so it may take a little longer. I apologize and appreciate ur patience! *bow* ~xJKxD**_


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